Beginning of the End

You know an issue is significant when the last three presidents of the United States dedicate time in the same day to raising awareness about it. Check out this powerful program on the beginning of the end of AIDS. It includes great panel dialogue featuring presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, as well as other insightful and inspirational folk:

In Honor of World AIDS Day...

... I figured I'd re-post some of my favorite awareness posters (from avert.org):

Take Control

In June of 1981, the CDC released its very first report about a disease that later became known as HIV/AIDS. Now, 30 years later to the month, we have come so far in understanding the risks and knowing how to take control of our health when it comes to this epidemic.

So today just so happens to be National HIV Testing Day in the United States. If ever there was a day when you did not have any excuses to get yourself checked out, it would be today. There will undoubtedly be many free HIV testing events going on around the country, bringing increased awareness to this invaluable aspect of self-care. Please visit www.hivtest.org to find out about testing events in your area. Use the map to find the testing center nearest you and go take control of your health!

Change of Heart?

Has the Catholic world gotten a new Pope? I don't recall seeing a tower of black smoke billowing from Vatican City, but it seems like the former Benedict XVI- you know, the one who said last year that condoms increase the AIDS problem in Africa- has disappeared and been divinely replaced by a Pope who has some sort of a grasp on reality.

It seems difficult to believe that a Pope would have any semblance of sensibility when it comes to issues of dirty, scary, sinful s-e-x, but it seemed as if the public health fairy had knocked him on his highly-hatted head when comments that he made on HIV and condom use were publiziced this past weekend. The comments came from a book which is to be published by Ignatious Press, titled "Light of the World: The Pope, The Church, and Signs of the Times." In it, Pope Benedict addresses the controversial issue of contraception and the AIDS epidemic by saying that there MAY be SOME situations where condom use is SORT OF accepted.

Whoa. That's a big step, no? The Vatican actually endorsing condom use? Ok well no not exactly. What the Pope REALLY said was that condom use is the "first step" on a sort of moral ladder... that using condoms in cases of, say, prostitution, is a way of assuming responsibility and acknowledging that what one is doing is wrong. Sure. Leave it to the Vatican to instill some sort of plaguing guilt on what would otherwise have been a solid ethical lesson. Here's Benny's words, in context:

"There could be single cases that can be justified, for instance when a prostitue uses a condom, and this can be a first step towards a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, to develop again the awareness of the fact that not all is allowed and that one cannot do everything one wants."

It seems tricky, but somewhere in there is a light of hope for AIDS activists and others around the world who see condoms as a solid, albeit not exclusive, means of combatting the disease. Because even though his holiness spoke in very vague and confusing language, his statement was a reversal of the Church's typical outright denunciation of contraceptives. And for an institution that bases its belief system on a 2,000 year old moral code, in which global epidemics and HIV did not exist, these statements made by their glorified leader are quite a miraculous step forward.

Capitol Rates

Living in the United States in 2010, it is hard to believe that we face any real threat from the effects of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. After all, we have modern medicine. We have treatment. We have countless prevention campaigns that tell us safe sex is great sex, to know our status, and if you ask any one person on the street, chances are they'll be able to reiterate those same catch phrases to you as if by script. But yet, with all of these supposed advancements in understanding of HIV in the U.S., we don't seem able to practice what we preach. With all of the gimmicky rhymes, regurgitated catch phrases, and memorized fact sheets, HIV transmission is still at an enormous rate in the U.S., and is a problem faced by too many of our citizens.

This problem is starkly geographically disproportionate. Out of 50 states, 55% of AIDS cases come from just 5. And the nation's capitol, where the HIV prevalence rate is over 3%, is now said to have surpassed many developing nations in West Africa in the severity and number of new AIDS cases. As of 2007, D.C.'s reported cases of AIDS are higher than any state in the U.S., at 148 cases per 100,000 residents. This is especially high when compared with other high-prevalence states: Maryland and New York, which each have about 24 cases per 100,00, and Florida, which has 21.7. This means that D.C.'s AIDS rate as of 2007 was higher than the top three states combined.

But Washington, D.C. got some good news this week, with a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control which shows that the spread of the disease is slowing in the district. Compared with 167 cases per 100,000 in 2004, the AIDS rate dropped to 148 cases in 2007, and has now dropped again to 107 cases per 100,000 residents as of 2008. Over a four year period, this change in AIDS prevalence represents a 22% decline, which is a major step forward for D.C. public health. The same report also indicated a 4% increase in the percentage of residents who went for HIV testing in D.C., up from 15% in 2005 to 19% in 2008.

Still, with a reported 81% of the D.C. population not being tested, and with the AIDS rate being 10 times higher than in most U.S. states, HIV continues to serve as a major threat to our nation's capitol, and this problem is not to be taken lightly. Prevention efforts which have become gimmicky and tired must be re-evaluated, and the perception of susceptibility must be emphasized to the public. Hopes are that if these efforts continue in Washington, D.C., then the number of AIDS cases will begin to drop. And with new studies being done to link the efficacy of treatment with the efforts of prevention, the horizon for halting the spread of HIV in D.C., and in the world, looks brighter and more focused every day.

In the Shadow of Power

When most Americans think of Washington, D.C., they may visualize the grand monuments that stand as testaments to our country's noble character, or the immaculate lawn that stretches back to that famous house on Pennsylvania Ave, or the various likenesses of our nation's most honorable leaders punctuating the column-lined mall that seems to denote all of the greatness and grandeur of the U.S.A. They may think of the capitol building with pride; that this is where our elected officials come with meritorious intent to draft the policies that shape our great nation. In movies and on television shows, images of our nation's capitol are confined to those same white-washed edifices, and what we really learn about this arcane city is limited to a view that lacks the social realities that define Washington D.C. as it truly is: a city of dual-existence, where the most powerful individuals in the world are operating amidst a city of poverty, hunger, and desperation that are not typically associated with American life.

But despite the manicured nature of the D.C. that most tourists see, there are undoubtedly parts of the city in which the reality is quite grim, as thirty-two percent of D.C. children live in poverty, an unacceptable rate which is nearly twice the national average. Washington, D.C. is also the city with the highest AIDS mortality rate in the country. And there are more than 10,000 homeless individuals and families surrounding those sparkling downtown streets where the world's most powerful individuals converge to set their agendas. All around the city, residents suffer from such insecurities as poor health, lack of access to fresh food, low performance in schools, low graduation rates, and violent crime. And these issues are largely confined to the poorest neighborhoods of the city, which are intensely segregated according to race, giving the city it's notorious designation as "the south's northernmost metropolis."

Photojournalist Kike Arnal has done an amazing job in exposing these circumstances that face many of D.C.'s residents in his new collection, In the Shadow of Power. He began with a project in 2003 to document the city's library system, and was shocked by the unjust politics and the radical, unashamed separation that lies between the city's elite and those who live in poverty. It is an honest account of human life, and a bold exposure of its often brutal nature. It is a very powerful collection, and should be viewed with much thought and reflection. The startling black and white photos put into perspective our notion of this seemingly forthright city, and give us symbolic insight into the structures that define not only D.C., but our entire country.

Check out the photos, and read the artist's message here: http://www.intheshadowofpower.com/photos.html

Awareness thru the Ages

A compilation of some of my favorite AIDS prevention posters from as early as 1984, found on avert.org :

Just in Time for World AIDS Day

Just in time for world AIDS day, a global day of action aimed at increasing awareness around the critical disease that continues to claim millions of lives each year, several advocacy organizations have issued Barack Obama a report card on his commitment to battling HIV transmissions and bolstering AIDS programs around the world. The U.S. president has earned a grade of a D+, hardly passing in his promises to combat the pervasive disease that affects so many people around the world, and making small strides in a positive direction. The grade was issued by the Global Access Project, Africa Action, the Treatment Action Group, and Global AIDS Alliance, and is based on the campaign promises that Obama had made prior to coming into office, taking into account all of the efforts he has put henceforth: the good, the bad, and the lackadaisical.

The main points of focus for Obama's performance assessment were global AIDS funding levels, scale-up of treatment, prevention efforts, and the expansion of global health efforts. Hopes had been built high prior to his presidency with a promise to double funding for AIDS programs around the world and to do the same for the number of HIV positive individuals receiving treatment, yet these goals have fallen to the wayside and his commitment to public health has wavered. And while there are some points of redemption in Obama's AIDS policy, particularly in his focus on prevention efforts and reproductive health, advocates around the world are questioning whether Obama may live up to earning his potential high marks.

In the face of rising treatment costs around the world, our president has chosen to flat-line spending on AIDS programming and research throughout the world, keeping the global funding levels set at what his predecessor had established. And although funds are being supplied for prevention efforts and care, critical treatment such as TB testing for all HIV positive individuals was not included. And because of a lack of proper funding, basic healthcare efforts such as doctors visits and medications for HIV are being stifled. By increasing access to antiretroviral medications so as to decrease individual infectiousness, and by facilitating access to healthcare clinics providing HIV-specific treatment and counseling, the Obama administration would have a significant impact not only on the lives of those living with HIV and AIDS around the world, but on the number of new transmissions each year. But according to his judges, Obama's lack of funding for these programs has "undermined his commitment to fund the U.S. fair share of the AIDS treatment burdern."

But our president's marks do improve in the realm of HIV prevention efforts, specifically as they are related to reproductive health and to substance use. In a monumental move, President Obama rescinded the ludicrous Bush-era Gag Rule within his first month in office. The Gag Rule was a global AIDS funding policy set up by the Bush Administration to prohibit the U.S. dollars from being used to bolster any reproductive health research or clinic that did not promote an abstinence-first paradigm. Obama should be congratulated for removing this measure which was completely out of touch with the real issues at hand, and his efforts to incorporate realistic reproductive health considerations into tackling HIV transmission reflect a highly refreshing perspective; especially in light of the World Health Organization's assertion this week that HIV is the #1 killer of women of reproductive age around the world.

And Obama is making large strides in the field of substance use as a primary contributor to HIV transmission, as well, having vowed to retract the federal measures which prohibited funding for needle-exchange programs. This matter hits close to home for Obama, as Washington, D.C. is one of the cities which has suffered most under this ban on funding programs which, in other cities like New York, have saved countless lives. D.C. is also one of the cities with the highest rates of HIV, with a staggering 3 to 5% of the population being identified as HIV positive. These issues are right at Barack Obama's backdoor, and his attention to them is critical.

But despite these various steps toward progress, President Obama has not yet fully fulfilled the U.S. pledge to expand its global health investments, contrary to the "Global Health Initiative" that was launched earlier this year in the White House. And while he had talked extensively about doubling the fiscal budget for AIDS-related spending, the levels of the Obama Administration remain constant with those of the Bush Administration, which essentially cripples the fight against global AIDS. And as Barack Obama had campaigned about setting the budget for AIDS research and prevention efforts, so far he has not. With hundreds of billions being spent on banks and on war, the proposed expanded budget for HIV would be just a tiny drop in the mighty American bucket. And with millions of people dying each year of this devastating disease, there simply is just no excuse for ignoring it.

Newsworthy

What was that about a $680 billion war bill and unlawful civilian deaths in Pakistan? Hmm, not too sure about those... but I do know that President Obama certainly played up to his heroic role as a Nobel Peace Prize recipient today by lifting a travel ban imposed on people living with HIV. It's about time we stopped treating sick people like criminals!

Pants on Fire

Conservative media just loves to get you riled up, even when they aren't necessarily telling the truth. A few weeks ago FoxNews ranted and raved over a UNESCO Public Health Report which suggested sexual education for children under the age of 10. According to the lunatics at Fox, the main point of the UNESCO report, which was geared toward reducing rates of HIV and STI transmissions worldwide, was that the U.N. was advocating to "Teach Masturbation to 5 Year Olds." And Life News brilliantly reported that the UNESCO guidelines "Call on Children to Promote Abortions." Wow. Way to miss the point, guys. Instead of focusing on the fact that UNESCO was attempting to reduce the number of children who engage in dangerous sexual activity at increasingly younger ages by providing educational guidelines that could be implemented by teachers worldwide, they fell back on their small-minded "beliefs" about what children that age "should" be learning.

In fact, what the guidelines suggest is actually a gradual exposure to issues of sexuality, starting at ages 5-8, when basic sexual topics are explored, and becoming increasingly detailed as children age, culminating with a curriculum for 12-15 year olds about contraception, abortion, and abortion alternatives, including the risks of improvised pregnancy terminations.

Considering that at the end of 2007, 30 million people worldwide were living with HIV, 2 million of those being children, it would seem as if any measure necessary to impede the spread of this deathly illness would be a positive measure. But in the skewed world of Christian extremism, voiced by the right-wing punditry, outdated morals and cultural elitism are more important than working to solve a global epidemic.

What is frightening is the power that these pundits have to coerce us into agreeing with them by using sensationalized, and even falsified information. It is absolutely misleading to report that UNESCO wants to teach masturbation to children. In fact, according to Time magazine, the 102 page UNESCO document mentions masturbation only five times, twice to explain to 5-8 year olds what the term actually means. So beware the lying pundits, because if they can stretch the truth on a matter as important as children's health, there's no telling what else they could do to try and sway our opinions. They insult our intelligence by thinking they can make up our minds on our behalf, but we are stronger than they think. We have the ability to make a distinction between right and wrong despite and without any zealous persuasion. We are stronger than they think.

Thought is free. Peace.